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Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Continue scrolling to read reflection.

By: The Rev. Libbie Weber

At the heart of this week’s lectionary passages is Psalm 19.7 with its first line: ‘The law of the LORD is perfect and revives the soul…’. How much better can our understanding of life get than in this beautiful line of David’s? The Hebrew word for ‘revives’ here is בוּשׁ , or shuwb (1) , which Gesenius translates as ‘to refresh him… since the life of a wearied person has as it were vanished, while that of a person refreshed is restored…’ (2) This is what life in Christ Jesus, who is the fulfillment of this Law, offers us: refreshment, revival, restoration – even ‘conversion’ as the King James Version has it. This refreshment is at the heart of our faith and is why we proclaim Life.

The Ten Commandments here ‘codify’, in the best possible meaning of that word, Life. Note the following phrases/sentences especially, although each command, at root and in obedient outworking, helps to define life: * ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol…’ In light of life, this should remind us of Isaiah 44 in which the prophet says in v. 19, concerning wood that a person both burns for warmth and uses for cooking and also uses for idol-making: ‘No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals, I roasted meat and have eaten. Now shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”‘ Here is the epitome of an idol-maker: one who makes a god out of something that is dead, literally or figuratively, and bows before it. * ‘For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it’. Here is the very meaning of refreshment: the Sabbath, built by the Creator right into creation itself. * ‘Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long…’ * ‘You shall not murder’. In Psalm 19, v. 13, and also in I Corinthians 1, vv. 18 and 21, there is a sense of being complete and whole. The Hebrew word in Psalm 19.13 for ‘whole’ is translated as tamam, meaning to be upright, or to be complete in mind, in heart. (3) The Greek word in 1 Corinthians 1 for ‘save’ is translated as sōzō, and also has the connotation of being made whole. (4)

These words hint broadly at a full and abundant life. In fact, all of these verses point to Jesus in the Gospel passage for Lent: he is consumed by zeal, by righteousness, in driving out the sellers in the Temple and overturning the tables of the moneychangers. He shows us what it means to be whole. He is God and also the very picture of healed humanity, and so he is able to declare cryptically that, though the Temple will be destroyed, it will be raised up in three days, referring to his coming death and resurrection. His righteousness, His wholeness, and His completeness is what overcomes death itself and brings us with Him back to life, abundant life. The ultimate refreshing! When we preach life, let’s preach refreshment!